UNIST News Centerhttp://news.unist.ac.kr
Tue, 18 Dec 2018 09:30:33 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.5UNIST to Lead the Energy 4.0 Revolution with Seawater Battery Storage Systemhttp://news.unist.ac.kr/unist-to-lead-the-energy-4-0-revolution-with-seawater-battery-storage-system/
http://news.unist.ac.kr/unist-to-lead-the-energy-4-0-revolution-with-seawater-battery-storage-system/#respondTue, 18 Dec 2018 09:14:33 +0000http://news.unist.ac.kr/?p=20199Beyond its contributions to the revitalization of the new energy, seawater batteries rebuilt itself as a new ‘eco-friendly’ and ‘low-cost’ energy storage system (ESS).

UNIST and Korea East-West Power Corporation held a ceremony to celebrate the completion of ’10kWh Seawater Battery ESS Facility’ at Ulsan Thermal Power Plant on December 17, 2018. Participants at the ceremony also had an opportunity to take a look at the detailed installation progress of seawater battery-based ESS, in addition to exploring prototypes and the demonstration pilot plant.

The new seawater-based ESS has a capacity of 10kWh, which is equal to the amount of electricity that a family of four can use for a day. As part of this installation, Korea East-West Power Corporation has built a facility that can light the office spaces of Ulsan Thermal Power Plant, using seawater batteries. There was also time to verify consistent output of the installed equipment through charging/discharging tests of seawater batteries.

The completion ceremony of ’10kWh Seawater Battery-based Energy Storage System’ was held at Ulsan Thermal Power Plant on December 17, 2018.

Energy storage system (ESS) have emerged as a promising, versatile technology that captures energy produced at one time for use at a later time. With the massive growth of IoT in manufacturing and industries, there has been booming demand driven by batteries for various electronic devices, as well as an explosion in the relevant market. At present, the size of the domestic ESS market to about 4 trillion KRW.

Currently, most ESS systems are powered by lithium-based batteries. However, the continued growth in demand for lithium-ion batteries has contributed to rising battery prices, which can lead to lithium-ion depletion.

In an effort to develop an alternative energy storage system, Professor Youngsik Kim and his research team in the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering at UNIST has introduced an eco-friendly, low-cost seawater batteries. Their seawater battery can store and utilize electricity, using sodium(Na), the sixth-most abundant element on earth.

Knowing the potential of seawater batteries, Korea East-West Power Corporation has invested about 2 billion KRW in research funding since 2016. The final product, installed at Ulsan Thermal Power Plant is a result of such investment. Without the support of Korea East-West Power Corporation, both the development of seawater batteries and the installation of EES would not have been possible.

“Seawater battery is an important technology that will change the paradigm of energy storage,” says President Mooyoung Jung of UNIST. “Without the ongoing support of Korea East-West Power Corporation, this would not have been possible.”

“Being located along the shoreline, Ulsan Thermal Power Plant has optimum conditions for the implementation of seawater batteries in ESS,” says a representative of Korea East-West Power Corporation. “This will be an important achievement for the future commercialization of world’s first seawater batteries.”

]]>http://news.unist.ac.kr/unist-to-lead-the-energy-4-0-revolution-with-seawater-battery-storage-system/feed/0UNIST Student-led Startup Embarks on Developing Drone-based Water Monitoring Systemhttp://news.unist.ac.kr/unist-student-led-startup-embarks-on-developing-drone-based-water-monitoring-system/
http://news.unist.ac.kr/unist-student-led-startup-embarks-on-developing-drone-based-water-monitoring-system/#respondFri, 14 Dec 2018 09:17:36 +0000http://news.unist.ac.kr/?p=20174In an effort to improve water quality, a student-led startup company, affiliated with UNIST has embarked on a new collaboration with a local company to implement a drone-based water quality monitoring scheme.

LOAD, a UNIST-based student startup, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a strategic cooperation with Unicorn of Smart IoT Service (USIS) Co., Ltd. on December 13, 2018. This partnership is significant, especially because this was the first agreement made between a family company of UNIST and a student-led startup.

In the memorandum of understanding, the two organizations promised to accelerate the commercialization of a drone-based water quality analysis system. LOAD, which has a strength in water quality analysis system, and Uusis Co., Ltd., which has strengths in drone and object internet technology, will develop their joint business model by utilizing their competitiveness.

“Collaborating with USIS Co., Ltd. that has considerable expertise in drone technology, will greatly advance the commercialization of smart water quality analysis system,” says YuBin Kim (School of Energy and Chemical Engineering), CEO of LOAD. “When the two join forces to create a new business model, the synergy can be endless.”

Smart Environmental Analysis System, proposed by LOAD.

Current analytical methods for water-quality studies can be cumbersome and time-consuming, as they require samples to be collected on-site, then deliver to the lab for further processing. Besides, such methods can lead to numerous problems, including high costs and difficulty in transporting samples.

LOAD is currently working on the development of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) systems or drones for environmental research. Their goal is to combine drones with ‘lab-on-a-disk’, a technique that analyzes molecules of nano-size. Their suggestion was to deploy an analysis device on the lower part of their prototype drone to efficiently monitor water pollutants in water bodies. The new device can maximize the accuracy and speed of their data collection in a cost-effective way.

Such approach started from the idea, proposed by YuBin. He has been working on lab-on-a-disk area under the supervision of Professor Yoon-Kyoung Cho in the School of Life Sciences at UNIST. YuBin has been involved in several patent applications and studies on topics closely related to Environmental & Analytical Chemistry.

The LOAD team, composed of UNIST students, has recently been awarded grand prize (Award of the Ministry of Defense) at the “2018 Startup Competition, Using National Defense Technology”. Their achievements have been well recognized at the K-startup Grand Challenge 2018, held by the Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water).

Waterproof drones developed by USIS Co., Ltd. LOAD will deploy its water intake system on this. l Photo Credit: LOAD

The signing ceremony of MoU between UNIST and USIS Co., Ltd. was held in UNISPARK. The ceremony has been attended by President Il Woo Lee and Vice President SungWoo Park of USIS Co., Ltd., CEO YuBin Kim of LOAD, Tae Heon Kim (School of Life Sciences), YouJin Ha (School of Life Sciences), Sihyeong Park (School of Life Sciences), Professor Hyun-Deok Kang (School of Life Sciences) and Professor ByeonYoon Jeong (School of Energy and Chemical Engineering).

]]>http://news.unist.ac.kr/unist-student-led-startup-embarks-on-developing-drone-based-water-monitoring-system/feed/0A New Exhibition “Infinity_fSM” Opens This Week!http://news.unist.ac.kr/a-new-exhibition-infinity_fsm-opens-this-week/
http://news.unist.ac.kr/a-new-exhibition-infinity_fsm-opens-this-week/#respondThu, 13 Dec 2018 08:57:51 +0000http://news.unist.ac.kr/?p=20143A new exhibition, dedicated to blending art and science, opens this week at Science Cabin, UNIST. Held under the theme of Infinity_fSM (Feces Standard Money), the show will explore the science of endless through the cycle of creating value by producing energy from human feces.

The exhibition started on Monday, December 10 and will be open from 9 am. to 6 pm. until December 28, 2018. An opening reception of the exhibition, which also included Artist Talk was also held at Science Cabin on Tuesday, December 11, 2018.

A total of nine works were displayed at the exhibition under the theme of ‘Infinity fSM (Feces Standard Money)’. Science Cabin, which was transformed into an exhibition space, showed unique works including installation work as well as sound and video art. Their works represented three themes: fSM, resource circulation, water pollution and water environment, and convergence and collaboration.

Artist Jieun Gu took charge of the entire exhibits and researchers participating in the Science Walden Project also partook in the event. The exhibition, which was planned in September, has been in preparation for more than three months. This includes idea planning, material selection, as well as the production process. Researchers used their own personal time to engage in this exhibition, after work.

At the opening ceremony held on Tuesday 11th, we had a time to introduce the works by participating in the exhibition, including Jieun Gu, Professor Hyun-Kyung Lee in the Division of General Studies at UNIST, Research Professor Mijin Choi, Daehe Kim, Michul Choi, Bitna Yoon, and Huijin Heo.

“Like the exhibition theme ‘Infinity fSM’, there is an endless charm in creating values by producing energy from human feces,” says artist Jieun Gu. “We strived to look at and express fSM like living creatures.”

“I am grateful that you have made a lot of efforts to make a wonderful space,” said Professor Jaeweon Cho in the School of Urban and Environmental Engineering at UNIST, Director of Science Walden.

Infinity fSM (Feces Standard Money) is an important theme pursued by the Science Walden project. Infinity fSM starts with a non-flush toilet, a non-flush toilet. The process of reprocessing the sides while minimizing the amount of water used is converted into biogas and becomes new energy. This energy can be used as a fuel for heating, hot water, etc., and its value goes back to the person who produced it.

Science Cabin is a science + arts convergence research center where artists help scientists understand this concept and represent it through scientific experiments, such as bio-energy production of feces. This space is also used as an exhibition hall, as well as a space for carrying out science-art convergence projects. Through the recent Science-Art Residency Project, held in November, artists Wongil Jeon and Seungkyun Lim carried out art projects, while staying at Science Cabin for a month. Three more artists will participate in the residency project in the upcoming January.

[‘25C Grand Poly’ by Jieun Gu & Bitna Yoon]

When visiting the exhibition, there are colorful canyons at the entrance of Science Cabin. Those oddly shaped canon layers represent our future, formed by piles of used plastic bottles and synthetic fabrics.

“The theme of this work can be seen as the Life Cycle of Clothes,” says Bitna Yoon. “In mapping out this work, I asked myself where the clothes in my wardrobe come from and how they end up.” She adds, “Artificial processes, such as manufacturing of synthetic fibers, washing them, and destroying them, once they are piled up, they can turn into naturalness in the distant future, I imagined.”

The oddly shaped canon layers, shown above represent our future, formed by piles of used plastic bottles and synthetic fibers.

[‘Membrane Tower’ and ‘Flowing Honey’ by Jieun Gu]

Artist Jieun Gu has been involved in the Science Walden Project, two years ago. She also participated in the ‘Flowing Point’ exhibition, which was held in May of this year, as an organizer, and carried out the Convergence of Science and Art project. At that time, she pondered the meaning of ‘collaboration’ and ‘convergence’ and expressed through her work, titled ‘Flowing Islands’. There, she displayed a number of tubes that are connected and interpenetrate one another. Through this, she wanted to address “Convergence and interaction can only arise when they bunch up and contront each other.”

On the side of the membrane tower, there is an image work, entitled ‘Flowing Honey’. The honey that floats in water represents the value aring from the circulation and flow of water, as well as the growth of fSM (Feces Standard Money).

‘Membrane Tower’ and ‘Flowing Honey’ by Jieun Gu.

‘Membrane Tower’ and ‘The Flow of Honey’ by Jieun Gu.

[‘Magic Castle’ by Hyun-Kyung Lee & Jieun Gu]

Hexagon is known for its efficient and complete structure. Science Walden’s currency, ‘Honey’ also comes from a hexagonal honeycomb. In addition, Sa-Wol-Dang Pavilion, which was the first project of Science Walden, is in the shape of a hexagon. The logo that represents the Science Walden Project is also hexagonal. Thus, many values that Science Walden aim to pursue collide and fuse within hexagons.

The work above, titled ‘Magic Castle’ where audiences can move and manipulate the interior design in their own creative ways, there is a constant stream of newness and convergence. That magic castle where anyone can make a change and bring values to life is Science Walden.

Professor Hyun-Kyung Lee (Division of General Studies, UNIST) is standing by ‘Magic Castle’.

On the second floor, Science Cabin presents a short 3D film, entitled ‘Planned Garden’ by artist Seungjin Park. One focus of this video entails looking at the portrayal of negative aspects of modern society, such as insensitivity, heartless, force of habit, war, and scarcity of environmental resources.

In addition to the exhibition in Science Cabin’s second floor gallery, there is a PVC artwork by Jieun Gu and Michul Choi. Their work aims at presenting a cross section of today’s society, as well as the future Science Walden hopes for. The wave-like PVC films represent a solid, unchanging awareness of people in the modern world, as well as the the oil spills, floating on the water. But, at the same time, it also symbolizes the promise of unlimited opportunity and new hope for the weary citizens.

On the second floor of the exhibition, an image work by Seungjin Park and ‘PVC Aurora Wave’ by Jieun Gu and Michul Choi.

<‘Flushing away is not the end’ by Daehee Kim>

The work by Daehee Kim (School of Urban and Environmental Engineering, UNIST) included sounds around us. His question began with the meaning of ‘pollution’. People engage in social and productive activities they enjoy to find happiness and meaning in life. Yet, the majority of air pollution is the result of human activities. Our daily activities serve a greater purpose beyond the pleasure or satisfaction, then shouldn’t pollution be considered good?

]]>http://news.unist.ac.kr/a-new-exhibition-infinity_fsm-opens-this-week/feed/0UNIST Expands Its Partnership with Cambridge Universityhttp://news.unist.ac.kr/unist-expands-its-partnership-with-cambridge-university/
http://news.unist.ac.kr/unist-expands-its-partnership-with-cambridge-university/#respondWed, 12 Dec 2018 05:04:58 +0000http://news.unist.ac.kr/?p=20127Building on the success of existing partnerships, UNIST is significantly expanding its academic exchange with prestigious universities in the world. Following its recent partnership with Harvard University in 2017, students of UNIST will now take part in the summer exchange program at Churchill College, which is part of the University of Cambridge in the UK, starting next year.

On December 10, UNIST has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Churchill College to pledge mutual support for one another in the pursuit of academic excellence. In the memorandum of understanding, the two organizations promised to promote academic collaboration, joint research programs, as well as faculty and student exchange programs.

The MoU signing ceremony was held at Churchill College Cambridge, UK on Monday, December 10, 2018. l Photo Credit: Hong-won Seo

Under this agreement, about 50 UNIST students will be given the opportunity to participate in rigorous and enriching study abroad and research experiences at Churchill College in the UK.

In turn, UNIST plans on organizing a visiting program for students at Churchill College. In particular, UNIST hopes to invite them to its existing summer exchange program, namely ‘SPIKE (Summer Program of Internship and Korean Experience)’. Such academic exchange will not only help students gain valuable international experience, but will also facilitate collaboration between two organizations.

“Visiting a world-class university and experiencing the highest level of research environment and learning atmosphere will be a great motivation for students,” says President Mooyoung Jung of UNIST. “In order to enable UNIST students to grow into global leaders, we plan to expand our exchange programs with prestigious universities in the future.”

President Mooyoung Jung (right) of UNIST and Master Dame Athene Donald (left) of Churchill College signed a MoU on Monday, December 10, 2018. l Photo Credit: Jung Ah Flora Chai

Churchill College is one of the 31 colleges that make up the University of Cambridge, England. Name after Sir Winston Churchill, the college was founded in 1960 with the intention of educating students in science and engineering, yet still retains a strong interest in the arts and humanities. The college with nearly 860 students enrolled, counts 32 Nobel Prize winners amongst its Fellowship, both past and present.

Meanwhile, UNIST has been running a student exchange program, namely ‘UNIST and Harvard SEAS Summer ExchangeProgram‘ with Harvard University to promote cultural awareness in engineering education, since 2017. About ten students immerse themselves in a 10-day intensive research experience over the summer. UNIST will continue to expand its academic exchange with other universities, in addition to the existing programs with the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and Churchill College, a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.

]]>http://news.unist.ac.kr/unist-expands-its-partnership-with-cambridge-university/feed/0Scientists Turn Carbon Emissions into Usable Energyhttp://news.unist.ac.kr/scientists-turn-carbon-emissions-into-usable-energy/
http://news.unist.ac.kr/scientists-turn-carbon-emissions-into-usable-energy/#respondTue, 11 Dec 2018 01:37:11 +0000http://news.unist.ac.kr/?p=20102A recent study, affiliated with UNIST has developed a system that produces electricity and hydrogen (H2) while eliminating carbon dioxide (CO2), which is the main contributor of global warming.

Published This breakthrough has been led by Professor Guntae Kim in the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering at UNIST in collaboration with Professor Jaephil Cho in the Department of Energy Engineering and Professor Meilin Liu in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology.

In this work, the research team presented Hybrid Na-CO2system that can continuously produce electrical energy and hydrogen through efficient CO2 conversion with stable operation for over 1,000 hr from spontaneous CO2 dissolution in aqueous solution.

“Carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration (CCUS) technologies have recently received a great deal of attention for providing a pathway in dealing with global climate change,” says Professor Kim. “The key to that technology is the easy conversion of chemically stable CO2 molecules to other materials.” He adds, “Our new system has solved this problem with CO2 dissolution mechanism.”

Schematic illustration of Hybrid Na-CO2 System and its reaction mechanism.

Much of human CO2 emissions are absorbed by the ocean and turned into acidity. The researchers focused on this phenomenon and came up with the idea of melting CO2 into water to induce an electrochemical reaction. If acidity increases, the number of protons increases, which in turn increases the power to attract electrons. If a battery system is created based on this phenomenon, electricity can be produced by removing CO2.

Their Hybrid Na-CO2 System, just like a fuel cell, consists of a cathode (sodium metal), separator (NASICON), and anode (catalyst). Unlike other batteries, catalysts are contained in water and are connected by a lead wire to a cathode. When CO2 is injected into the water, the entire reaction gets started, eliminating CO2 and creating electricity and H2. At this time, the conversion efficiency of CO2 is high at 50%.

“This hybrid Na-CO2 cell, which adopts efficient CCUS technologies, not only utilizes CO2 as the resource for generating electrical energy but also produces the clean energy source, hydrogen,” says Jeongwon Kim in the Combined M.S/Ph.D. in Energy Engineering at UNIST, the co-first author for the research.

▲ The system produce electrical energy and hydrogen through efficient CO2 conversion (Electric current is presented on the display below).

In particular, this system has shown stability to the point of operating for more than 1,000 hours without damage to electrodes. The system can be applied to remove CO2 by inducing voluntary chemical reactions.

“This research will lead to more derived research and will be able to produce H2 and electricity more effectively when electrolytes, separator, system design, and electrocatalysts are improved,” said Professor Kim.

]]>http://news.unist.ac.kr/scientists-turn-carbon-emissions-into-usable-energy/feed/0New Class of Solar Cells, Using Lead-free Perovskite Materialshttp://news.unist.ac.kr/new-class-of-solar-cells-using-lead-free-perovskite-materials/
http://news.unist.ac.kr/new-class-of-solar-cells-using-lead-free-perovskite-materials/#respondMon, 10 Dec 2018 08:59:22 +0000http://news.unist.ac.kr/?p=20054Lead-based perovskites already gained much attention as promising materials for low-cost and high-efficiency solar cells. However, the intrinsic instability and the toxicity of lead (Pb) have raised serious concerns of the viability of Pb-based perovskites, hindering large-scale commercialization of solar cells and similar devices based on these materials. As an alternative solution, Pb-free perovskites were recently proposed to counter the toxicity of lead‐based perovskites, yet it is of little use due to lower efficiencies.

A recent study, led by Professor Tae-Hyuk Kwon in the School of Natural Science at UNIST has taken a major step toward the development of a new generation of solar cells, using lead-free perovskites. With its promising electronic properties, the new perovskite material has been demonstrated to function as a charge regenerator with dye‐sensitized solar cells, thus enhancing both the overall efficiency and stability. Published in the November 2018 issue of Advanced Materials, their findings will open new possibilities for the application of lead-free perovskites in solar cells.

Among the various alternatives to lead, the research team used the vacancy‐ordered double perovskite (Cs2SnI6). Despite their promising outlook, the surface states of Cs2SnI6 and their function remain largely unclear. Thus, a comprehensive study is necessary to clarify these features of Cs2SnI6 for the future design of Cs2SnI6‐based devices.

Above is the 3‐electrode system for the observation of charge transfer through the surface state of Cs2SnI6.

Through this work, the team examined the charge transfer mechanism of Cs2SnI6 with the aim of clarifying the function of its surface state. For this purpose, a 3‐electrode system was developed to observe charge transfer through the surface state of Cs2SnI6. Cyclic voltammetry and Mott–Schottky analyses were also used to probe the surface state of Cs2SnI6, whose potential is related to its bandgap.

Their analysis demonstrated that the surface state of Cs2SnI6 is highly redox active and can be effectively charged/discharged in the presence of iodide redox mediators. Besides, the preparation of a charge regenerator system based on Cs2SnI6 confirmed that charge transfer occurred through the surface state of Cs2SnI6.

“In case of Cs2SnI6, charge transfer occurred through the surface state of Cs2SnI6,” says HyeonOh Shin in the Combined MS./Ph.D in Chemistry at UNIST. “This will aid in the design of future electronic and energy devices, using Pb-free perovskites.”

Based on this strategy, the research team engineered hybrid solar cells, using a Cs2SnI6‐based charge regenerator for organic dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Such solar cells generate electric current in the process where the oxidized organic dye returns to its original state.

“Due to a high volume of electrical charges in organic dyes that show high connectivity with the surface state of Cs2SnI6, more electric current were generated,” says Byung-Man Kim in the Department of Chemistry at UNIST, another lead author of this study. “Consequently, Cs2SnI6 shows efficient charge transfer with a thermodynamically favorable charge acceptor level, achieving a 79% enhancement in the photocurrent density compared with that of a conventional liquid electrolyte.”

This study has attracted considerable attention among researchers, as it examined the charge transfer mechanism of Cs2SnI6 with the aim of clarifying the function of its surface state. Their results suggest that the surface state of Cs2SnI6 is the main charge transfer pathway in the presence of a redox mediator and should be considered in future designs of Cs2SnI6‐based devices.

This study has been also partificated by Professor Yoonsoo Pang and his research team from Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST). Their findings have been published in the November 2018 issue of Advanced Energy Materials, a highly prestigious journal in materials science.

The recipients of this year’s Talent Award of Korea include Seokjin Kim in the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering and Hansol Lee in the School of Life Sciences at UNIST.

The Talent Award of Korea is an award bestowed by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education of Korea since 2014. It recognizes those individuals who have performed exemplary talents or outstanding meritorious service. Every year, the award goes to 100 university and high school students who became distinguished in certain fields through effort, challenging spirits and creativity.

Seokjin Kim (Ph.D. Candidate, School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, UNIST) was given the award in recognition of his contributions to the development of materials to tackle global energy and environmental issues.

He is currently working on the development of catalysts for hydrogen production, as well as technologies for hydrogen production and storage under Professor Jong-Beom Baek. He has published numerous SCI research papers on the synthesis and application of aromatic network polymer for catalysts.

Seokjin Kim in the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering at UNIST.

Another recipient, Hansol Lee in the School of Life Sciences at UNIST, has been given this award in recognition of his active participation in early detection of degenerative brain disease. He is currently working on the development of techniques for the early diagnosis of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease and dementia, using MRI under Professor Hyung Joon Cho.

Hansol Lee in the School of Life Sciences at UNIST.

The award ceremony took place in Sejong Center for the Performing Arts on November 30, 2018. Four students from Ulsan have been selected for this year’s Korea Young Talent Award, each to receive Minister Prize. These recipients include two high school students and two university students: JiHwan Park (Beomseo High School), DongHyub Lee (Ulsan Technical High School), SeokJin Kim (UNIST, School of Energy and Chemical Engineering), and HanSol Lee (UNIST, School of Life Sciences).

Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae is presenting the 2018 Talent Award of Korea to Hansol Lee (School of Life Sciences, UNIST) at the ceremony, took place in Sejong Center on November 30, 2018.

The award-winning design, Toguz Korgool board game, is the redesign of a traditional Kyrgyz mancala game played in Central Asian and African countries for decades. Similar to chess, this is a two-player turn-based strategy board game played with small stones or balls. The aim is to improve users’ general arithmetic skills and strategic thinking skills through gameplay.

This new design is meant to look appealing both when it is being played and not in use. When not being played, it looks like a beautiful 20 sided object. The 20 faces are connected with hinges and magnets so that the whole body can be folded and unfolded easily—the entire process also provides an engaging experience.

Above is the award-winning design “Toguz Korgool”, the redesign of a traditional Kyrgyz mancala game played in Central Asian and African countries.

The game starts with 9 balls on each ball tray. Each player takes a turn picking all the balls from a tray with one ball left. He proceeds to distribute the balls one by one on each tray counter-clockwise. When the number of balls in the last tray is odd, he owns the balls and puts them in a temporary reservoir. This repeats until one of the players collects 81 balls in total.

Aibolot, who joined UNIST in 2015, recently received much attention from Kyrgyzstan media when he won the prestigious Red Dot Award (Related Article). He is currently doing an internship at a German-based design firm and plans to commercialize the product in the near future.

“Aibolot was given the award in recognition of his boundless potential in the field of design,” says Professor Kim. “Throughout this time, his challenging spirit and dedication to academic achievement has been an inspiration to those with a design major.”

Since its inception in 1955, the Red Dot Design award has become synonymous with prominent industry trends and the highest-quality design. It is also one of the world’s three major design awards along with Germany’s iF Design Award and United State’s IDEA Award.

Below is an interview with Aibolot Makenov:

Please tell us about yourself.

My name is Aibolot, I am 21 years old. I was born and raised in a small village called Kazarman in Kyrgyzstan. When I was 13 with the decision of my family I moved to a bigger city so that I could pursue a better education. For the next five years I studied in the city of Naryn, apart from my family. High school years were indeed not easy. Despite the difficulties at school, though, we have learnt to be independent, adapt to a new environment and constantly watch for new opportunities. After high school, I was accepted to UNIST, where I currently study industrial design.

It would be unfair if I had not mentioned Professor Kwanmyung Kim’s support, as it was the key to receiving this award. He was the one who had trusted me and guided throughout the entire project timeline. The knowledge he has provided me with was undoubtedly priceless. Unfortunately, because of his tight schedule, he could not make it to Singapore and so I received the award by myself. It was a great experience to be honored on the famous Red Dot carpet, right in front of a crowd of professional designers. Additionally, I had the opportunity to network with designers, which I am hoping will lead to collaborations in the future.

Aibolot Makenov (School of Design and Human Engineering, UNIST) at the 2018 Red Dot Design Award ceremony, took place in Singapore on September 28, 2018.

Please tell us more about the board game, “Toguz Korgool”. And what was the most important consideration in this design project?

Toguz Korgool is a traditional game which has been played for many decades in my country. Other than its benefits in improving strategic thinking, it also promotes mathematical thinking especially with the use of arithmetic skills, as players should constantly count and carefully watch the balls in order to win the game.

After conducting a thorough research, one of the problems that we have identified with the game was that it did not really attract people with its design. With many other board games, it was usually kept somewhere in the closet where one would almost forget its existence unless they come across with it. Therefore, we wanted to give it a new look with a compact, visually appealing and user-friendly design. As a result, we came up with this concept.

In the design process, it was challenging to find the right shape since we wanted to make something that is foldable, which at the same time would have 18 facets as the traditional design does. Now, we believe that we achieved a design which is highly user-friendly and at the same time aesthetically appealing which can be also used as a decorative element at home.

Shown above is Toguz Korgool board game, which has been proposed by Aibolot Makenov.

How did you embark on this redesign project of “Toguz Korgool”? And how did you come up with the idea of merging a traditional game and modern design?

It has a very personal story behind. When I discovered that I had my passion in design, the next question in my mind was “How can I contribute to my home country with my skills”. I think this thought gave me a firm push towards coming up with the idea of redesigning our traditional game. This project has started last year as a final assignment for my CAD (computer-aided design) class. After presenting my idea in the class, Professor Kwanmyung Kim gave me the idea of bringing this product to the market. As a first step, we wanted to validate our product, and so we applied to Red Dot, which ended up successfully. Giving a modern look to this board game was in fact not that difficult, as this was something we have had to keep in mind for all the designs we have been doing.

Toguz Korgool, proposed by Aibolot Makenov, is a two-player turn-based strategy board game played with small stones or balls.

Please tell us more about your life at a German design company.

I think working in Germany taught me how to build the life and work balance. Here, I came to realize that we should spare time for our lives, as much as we spare time for our job. It could anything as simple as going out with friends, or doing sports, reading books, etc. This, for some reason, was something I have not realized throughout the time I have spent in Korea.

Working in a company in general, on the other hand, strengthened my soft skills such us communication, leadership, time management, and so on. I am especially happy that I could improve my communication skills both in the process of design and in networking with other designers. As a designer, it is crucial to be a good communicator. After all, only by good communication are we able to come up with novel ideas and create great products.

What is your role there?

I am interning here as a product designer, whereby I support the company with ideas in various projects. They allow me to dig into all design processes starting from ideation till the production stage. Most importantly, I get to learn how to think from end user’s perspective and try to fulfill their wants and needs, which are among the key aspects of a good design. I think design thinking we learn here can be used in many other fields other than industrial design itself. It is a powerful tool which can be used to solve problems with the help of creativity, by looking at them from different perspectives.

How did you get an opportunity for an internship in Germany?

Working in an environment with people of unique cultural backgrounds has always been interesting to me. In the beginning of this year I decided to go abroad and challenge myself to experience work – life balance in a completely new setting. I had this goal to put my design skills into test with real world projects and I was ready to work even for free. Hoping that I could land an internship in Europe, I have applied to nearly 50 companies, asking them to take a short look at my portfolio. I was rejected by more companies than the ones I received a positive response. For me, it was very important to convince HR managers to have a talk with me on Skype; for afterwards, I was quite confident that my communication skills would have me pull off the interviews. But then it took some time to learn how to nail the interviews. After having a couple of them, I already knew what my strengths and weaknesses were. In the further interviews, I tried to focus more on my strengths and talk less about my weaknesses. In the end, I had some successful interviews which led me to land a paid internship in Germany.

Aibolot Makenov (School of Design and Human Engineering, UNIST) has been named a winner of the 2018 prestigious “Red Dot Award” for design concept.

What brought you to UNIST?

It was a very sudden decision to study in South Korea. Until my senior year at high school, I had always planned stay in my country. But one moment had completely changed my opinion. It was the moment when I heard a friend of mine discussing about UNIST with Korean students who had come from Korea for international Olympiads. After hearing that, I was very interested to study at UNIST, and that is how I ended up here.

Why did you choose industrial design track? And what is the attraction of the track?

I wanted to be an architect after I graduated from high school. I always loved the fact that they come up with amazing design ideas, and so I wanted to become one of them. But then after arriving in Korea, I was amazed by how many Korean students preferred to study chemical engineering here. It influenced me so much such that out of pure career concerns, I ended up selecting chemical engineering as my major, although I have had no interest in it. After a semester though, I felt lost and started to think about what I really wanted. As a result, I decided to become an industrial designer instead, and I am now very proud by the decision I have made at that time.

Aibolot Makenov (School of Design and Human Engineering, UNIST) at the 2018 Red Dot Design Award ceremony, took place in Singapore on September 28, 2018.

What is your next goal?

There are many things I would like to accomplish. But for now, my focus is on Toguz Korgool. We are planning to make it available worldwide. For that, we are now improving the design and working on potential sales and marketing strategies.

]]>http://news.unist.ac.kr/unist-student-wins-prestigious-2018-red-dot-award-design-concept/feed/0UNIST and MiCo Announce Joint Initiative to Install SOFC in Science Cabinhttp://news.unist.ac.kr/unist-and-mico-announce-joint-initiative-to-install-sofc-in-science-cabin/
http://news.unist.ac.kr/unist-and-mico-announce-joint-initiative-to-install-sofc-in-science-cabin/#respondWed, 05 Dec 2018 02:23:01 +0000http://news.unist.ac.kr/?p=20114Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) have attracted much attention due to their potential of providing an efficient, fuel flexible, low emission and relatively low cost means of producing electricity. The nation’s first SOFC-based power generation system will be soon installed on UNIST campus.

On December 5, UNIST signed an industry-academia cooperation agreement with MiCo Co., Ltd. for the successful commercialization of SOFC technology. Under the agreement, Mico will help install 2kW class SOFC power generation module at Science Cabin without compensation. With this facility in center, MiCo Co., Ltd. and Professor Guntae Kim in the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering at UNIST will carry out joint research activities targeted on developing technologies to promote practical applications of SOFCs. The power supply line necessary for the operation will be provided Kyungdong City Gas Co., Ltd.

A solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is an electrochemical conversion device that produces electricity by oxidizing a fuel. It is still subject to a fairly intense development for its unforgettable competitive benefits of long-term stability, a high fuel flexibility, low emissions, as well as relatively low cost. SOFCs are a possible next generation fuel cells, as they are capable of raising efficiency higher than 90% when using the exhaust heat.

SOFCs use solid oxides, such as zirconium oxide and ceria as electrolytes and generate electricity by chemically reacting with oxygen in the air using hydrogen as a fuel. A fuel cell composed of two electrodes (anode and cathode) generates electricity, water, and heat through the electrochemical reaction when oxygen in the air passes through the cathode and hydrogen passes through the anode.

In 2015, Professor Kim and his research team introduced a highly efficient and stable electrode material for SOFC, using natural gas. Although this technology has been evaluated to have greatly accelerated the industrialization of SOFC, the actual implementation has been difficult. Through this partnership, Professor Kim plans to apply their SOFC technology to the new facility and concentrate further in the acceleration of the commercialization of the technology.

“The successfully implementation of SOFC systems that directly use LPG or LNG as fuels, could allow the fuel cells to operate via city gas lines,” says Professor Kim. “Until we realize a true hydrogen-based society, we must build hydrogen infrastructure, using natural gas.”

The SOFC system to be installed in Science Cabin will be used to produce electricity from the bioenergy produced in the building. Science Cabin is a science + arts convergence research center that boasts a system, capable of converting human feces into energy. The building currently can accommodate up to three people. To sum up, this is a resource recycling system, capable of converting ‘human feces’ into ‘biogas’, then to electricity via SOFC.

The signing ceremony of MoU between UNIST and MiCo Co., Ltd. was held in the library of UNIST on December 5, 2018.

Meanwhile, the signing ceremony of MoU between UNIST and MiCo Co., Ltd. was held in the library of UNIST. The ceremony has been followed by a technical seminar on SOFC and Science Cabin. In this seminar, MiCo Co., Ltd. gave a brief introduction to its SOFC technology. UNIST also provided a detailed description of biogas production process from Science Cabin, as well as the development of carbon capture and conversion technologies.

The School of Business Administration at UNIST held a special gathering of entrepreneurs, namely ‘2018 UNIST Entrepreneur Night‘ to create strong bonds amongst students, alumni, and its faculty members. Held in the Kyungdong Hall of Main Administration Building at UNIST, the event was attended by 150 UNIST alumni entrepreneurs, students, and faculty members.

The 2018 UNIST Entrepreneurs’ Night has been attended by students and faculty members of business administrations. l Photo Credit: School of Business Administration, UNIST

The UNIST Entrepreneur Night is an event, designed to create a campus-wide culture of innovation and entrepreneurship and to promote a networking amongst students, faculty and alumni. The primary purpose of this year’s gathering was also to celebrate its recent accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). This accreditation represents that UNIST’s business programs at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels, are proven to be among the best in business education anywhere in the world.

“I would like to express our gratitude to AACSB International for the honor of earning the prestigious accreditation, which is an affirmation of our position as a leading provider of business education,” said Kooyul Jung, dean of UNIST SBA. “All credit goes to the dedicated efforts of our faculty, staff, students and alumni, as well as the ongoing support provided by UNIST President during the multiple-year process.”

During the course of the event, there was also a Q&A session with faculty members of business administration at UNIST. l Photo Credit: School of Business Administration, UNIST

The event was composed of two parts: A networking dinner with alumni and faculty members in Part I and fun networking activities, including information sharing in Part II.

In Part I, there was a brief introduction to the process of earning AACSB International Accreditation, followed by a lively Q&A session with faculty members. In Part II, various networking activities were also held to strengthen bonds amongst alumni, students, and faculty.

Meanwhile, UNIST is the youngest and the first South Korean university in the southeastern regions of Korea (Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam) up to date to earn the AACSB International Accreditation for business programs at all study levels (B.A., M.A. and Ph.D).

The 2018 UNIST Entrepreneur Night was held in the Kyungdong Hall of Main Administration Building at UNIST on December 1, 2018. l Photo Credit: School of Business Administration, UNIST